In Hebrews 1, let's begin reading
in verse 1 and go to verse 4. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son,
whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made
the worlds, being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His
power, when He, that is Christ, had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made
so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they." He's obtained a more excellent
name than they. And we're going to look specifically
at verse 3 and the phrase, when He had by Himself purged our
sins. That's what we're going to look
at. When Christ had by Himself purged
our sins. He sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high. When I looked at that, the one
thing that came to my mind was Christ is God's summation of
all that He will accept. Christ is God's summation. He's the total. He's it. He's all in all. He is the only thing that God
will accept, and if we're in Him, were accepted, it says in
the Beloved. He says in the Beloved. Let me
read you something here. The atonement for sin is made
only by Christ, our great high priest. He, himself, and no other,
bore our sins and he himself purged them away. By his sacrifice
alone, He expiated our sins and accomplished our salvation and
of the people there was none to help or assist him. When our
shepherd was smitten by the word of justice, the sheep were scattered
and all his disciples forsook him and fled. There were none
to appear for him nor stand by him. not in the least to lend
an assisting hand in the great work in which he was engaged. He is the only mediator between
God and men, both of redemption and of intercession. He is the
alone Savior. To him only are sinners to look
for salvation, and he is to have all the glory. He had no partner
in the work of redemption, and He will have no rival in the
honor of it." Now, I read that, I could just shut the book and
go home because that is a mouthful and very wonderfully said. But
I want to look at some passages of Scripture to show what He's
talking about here in Hebrews. He, Christ by Himself, purged
our sins. He by Himself purged our sins.
Turn with me to Leviticus chapter 16. This is typified in the Old
Testament. Many, many types and pictures. This is beautifully done. Leviticus chapter 16. and verse 17, Leviticus 16 and
verse 17. Speaking of when the high priest
goes into the tabernacle to sacrifice for the sins of the people, it
says, and there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation
when he, that's the high priest, goes in to make an atonement
in the holy place until he come out and have made an atonement
for himself and for his household, and for all the congregation
of Israel." Well, we know a greater than the high priest has already
come. And it says, needs not daily to make intercession for
himself. He did that once. Once. But this high priest is
a picture and a type of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. I like how
it says in the first phrase, no man, there shall be no man
in the tabernacle with him. Nobody. Nobody. No man, says
our text. The high priest alone. As a matter
of fact, if you remember anything about the attire of the high
priest, they had the skirt and the ermine thumb and they had
the ephod and all that. But they had, at the bottom of
their robe, they had bells. So when they went in, once a
year, to the holiest of all, you didn't know what was going
on, but you could hear them. If that ever stopped, and apparently
they had a rope tied to one of his legs, if he died, they'd
pull him off. If you didn't hear those bells,
you knew that there was not an atonement made. This is how serious
it was. So, he went in alone. And our Lord Jesus Christ, no
one could go in there. No one. In matter of fact, the
Old Testament, it's already fulfilled. When he went in, the temple,
the curtain was made whole. It was split in two. It's meaning
the work is done. It is finished. It is complete.
No man, no man shall be in the tabernacle. Now we know that
this, in John I think chapter 6, no man can come. So we can't even come to Christ.
We don't even have the ability to do so. We cannot come. We are not allowed even into
the court of God unless We have our great High Priest representing
us before the Father. That's how sinful and vile we
are, every one of us. We're born in sin. As this glorious High Priest
is standing before the thrice-holy God, He is working all things
after the counsel of His own will. In this case, lividus would
be the atonement. That was His job, to go in and
put the blood where it needed to be. which represent, obviously,
another thing represented is Christ. He was reconciling the
sinner, propitiating the sinner, forgiving the sinner, and making
peace for the sinner. That is the high priest, and
that's our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he's done. We sing
that song, Man of Sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who
came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah, what a Savior. What a Savior! He came to save
His people from their sins. Not maybe, not partially, not
if you'll let Him. He went in alone. Went in alone. If you want to turn to Joshua
chapter 8, now we know we're going through the studies of
Joshua on Wednesday night, and we're going to be here. But this
was too good for me to not pass up. I'm just going to mention
a few things. I won't spoil or alert, as it were, the whole
thing. But this is just too good. In
Joshua chapter 8, And we're going to be looking
at the last verses 30 through the end of the chapter. That's
where we will be. But basically, this got them
having the victory over Ai. They just wiped everybody out.
And then in verse 30 it says, Then Joshua built an altar unto
the Lord. He read the book of the law.
He made the altar of whole stones, and it says of which no man hath
lifted up any iron, that's important. Then he sacrificed, he read the
book of the law, and then the priests were present. Now there's
five things, there's five things there, if we look at them. There's
five elements of godly worship. Every time we gather together,
these elements are here. the altar, the priest, the sacrifice,
and the Word of God. Now, when I was a kid, growing
up in church, we never brought our Bible. We never brought our
Bible to church. Even as a kid, I thought, well,
that's kind of odd. But, you know, no big deal. If
my mom and dad don't do it, I'm not going to do it. As we heard this morning, very
aptly, this is the record that God has given of His Son. It
needs to be around us all the time. In us, through us. Take
the scroll of the Old Testament. When He took it and He ate it,
it was bitter to Him, but then it was a delight to us. Honey
out of the rock. The Word of God is so important.
But who's the believer's ark? Christ. Who's the believer's
altar? Christ. Who's the believer's
priest? Christ. Who's the believer's
sacrifice? Christ. And according to John
1, who is the Word of God? Christ. So, Christ alone, as
in our text, He by Himself purged our sins. He is all these things
to the believer. And I was looking at it, and
I wasn't even going to look at it, but I thought another beautiful
thing is that there was no stone. There's no stone, no iron to
be laid on the stone. Well, that's man's works. Don't
do it. Don't bring in our denominational,
and again, we could be called the Grace Church or Church of
Jackson, but that's why I don't have Baptist in the title. Baptist,
Presbyterian, we're Sovereign Grace Church. Sovereign is who
God is and grace is how He saves. That's why we chose that name. But again, it's not even so much
the name, it's what's being preached. That's why He says there's no
name given among men in Heaven whereby we must be saved. That's
Christ. Turn with me to Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63, and look at verse
5. Verse 4, For the day of vengeance
is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. and there was none to help. And
I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore, mine own
arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me." Turn
to Isaiah 59. Turn back one page or so. Isaiah
59 and verse 16. This is all about
the redemptive work of Christ. He by Himself purged our sins
and sat down. Verse 16, and he saw that there
was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore,
his arm brought salvation unto him and his righteousness, it
sustained him. He, by himself, purged our sins. He, by himself. His own arm,
which another passage in the Word says it's not shortened
and it cannot save, And there was none to help. Indeed, there's
no help from man that we could really ever do to assist his
work. I mean, I know that's what works
religion is, and that's why it's an abomination in the eyes of
God. Christ didn't do it all. Man's
got to assist him. Man has to assist him. As far
as denominations, and I've said this many times, there's only
two religions. There's the religion of Cain and there's the religion
of Abel. That's all there is. Any denomination just fits into
one of those two. None to help. We cannot help. Because we in and of ourselves
are too sinful for assistance, we're too vile for aid, we're
too corrupt for deliverance, we're too blind to rescue. Except
in and through and by the sweet balm of Gilead, which is another
reference to Christ. Hebrews chapter 7. Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7 and verse
27. Let's start in verse 26. Let's
start in verse 25. Wherefore he, that is Christ,
is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever lives to make intercession for them. For such a high priest
became us who is holy. harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who Christ
needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices,
first for his own sins, and then for the people's. For this he
did once, he did once, when he offered up himself." He by Himself
purged. For the law makes men high priests
which have infirmities, but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the Son who is consecrated forevermore." And
that word consecrated is perfected. Perfected. Christ is perfected.
Christ is perfection. Hebrews chapter 9. Turn one page
over. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12 through
14 and verse 26, Hebrews chapter 9. Verse 12 through 14, neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered
in once into the holy place having obtained. Now that's past tense.
eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
goats and ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified to the
purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered..." There's that word
again, Himself. Just Himself. He could find no other. Isn't
that what John said in the Revelations? He looked to see if there's any
man worthy to open the book. There's nobody worthy. And he
wept. And the angel said, don't weep. For the lion of the tribe of
Judah has prevailed. Prevailed. Prevailed. That's what he's done for us.
He by himself purged our sin. Purged. Past tense. He prevailed.
Offered himself without spot to God. Purged your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God. Purged. When the altar of stones was
erected, as I said before, there was no tool to be laid of man's
making. The stench of our works and our
worth cannot be included with the altar of God's choosing and
God's chose Christ. The stench of what we are, it
cannot be included. As a matter of fact, I can't
remember the name of the guy, Uriah, I can't remember his name. But
the guy that tried to steady the ark, remember when it was
being brought back from the Philistines? Who? Yeah, I knew it was some
of you there, but I couldn't remember. But he tried to steady
the ark, and he got killed. Now, what is that? That shows
that God does not need our assistance in anything. This is how holy
God... and He's not any less holy. He's
the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn't change, no.
And because of that, therefore, you sons of Jacob, you elect.
are not consumed. Because when God looks at us,
He sees the Son. He sees the Son's work for us.
He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself alone, solitarily,
voluntarily, and totally sufficient. May we look only to Him and we'll
have everything we ever need. In Christ is our hope, Our peace,
grace, mercy to help in time of need, it's all... And I've
said this before, God has all of His eggs in one basket. We
can think we can do that. And if you have a portfolio,
you're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to diversify.
God does not do that. He has everything in His Son. Now, I know I shared this the
other night because it was so good, but I'll share it again.
He sent it to you all email. Turn to Isaiah 46. This is just
too good. Basically, I sent it to everybody
that I thought I had an email for. Isaiah 46. We need, by God's grace, to look
only to Him. But I don't know if I'm going
to make it tomorrow. I don't know if I'm going to endure. I don't
know, you know, this country, it's falling apart. I don't know
about all these different things. I don't know either. But look
at this. Look at this, Isaiah 46, verses
3 and 4. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob.
That's His people who He's who have purged their sins, and all
the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by me from the
belly, which are carried from the womb. And even to your old
age I am He, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you. I have made, I will bear, even
I will carry, and will deliver you." How many I's are in those
two verses, that one verse? We're talking about the great
I am says this. The great I am says this. What a huge pillow to go to sleep
on. What a huge comfort to go to
work upon. What a huge blessing when the
years come and the eyes get dim and the ears stop listening the
way they used to and we can't move around. What a blessing!
He says He will bear, He will carry and deliver. Ultimately, we're going to cross
Jordan. We're going to have to face death
unless He comes back. But He'll give us dying grace
and then we will be delivered from this present body of sin,
this present body of the flesh. So let's close, let's look at
Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19. All praise and honor and glory
is given to Him in heaven. Revelation 19 verse 1, and after
these things, You could say, after I realized, by God's grace,
that He purged my sins. After I realized my sins were
forgiven. After I realized that I could do nothing to please
Him. After I realized that I didn't even know how to pray. After
I realized these things, I heard a great voice of much people
in heaven saying, Alleluia, salvation, and glory, and honor, and power,
unto the Lord our God. So, what do I have here for us
here today? In Jackson, Missouri, for us
who are here, nobody else is, unless there's somebody listening
on the phone. If this is what we're doing in heaven, let us
do this right now. Let us do this today. People
we see, people we meet, people we talk to, let us praise, honor,
and glorify Christ. Because He, by Himself, all alone,
has done everything God required of sinners. Everything we have
is found in Christ. Let's give Him, now and in this
place, in Jackson, Missouri, give Him all glory. for each one. Bruce, would you
close us please?